Royal Holloway, U of London

Computer networks, devices and infrastructure today undergird nearly all forms of aesthetic, cultural social and political life. Art and police, screen and traffic lights, museums and designers rely on software systems for their everyday performance. Whether used for creating, tracking, organizing, evaluating, designing or communicating, digital technology irreversibly transforms the fabric of everyday life, defining the horizon of the future. This module offers a solid introduction into the core concepts of the digital age, drawing on a rich variety of disciplines. We will examine a number of concepts, including, but not limited to: technicity, affective turn, digital subjectivity and extended mind, creative expression and participation in the digital era, amateur production, Free Software, fun and politics, self-organisation, media archeology and sonic architectures. The module aims to encourage students to:- develop a theoretical and practical understanding of systematic challenges brought about by the digital change;- acquire an advanced conceptual vocabulary and a creative approach towards the multiform phenomena of the digital era and their interpretations;- enable the students to innovatively and independently evaluate the digital phemonena and apply conceptual frameworks that yield an original and sound interpretative analysis, both individually and in groups; - develop and demonstrate independent and practice-based interpretative analysis in discussions and academic writing. Learning Outcomes: 1. to identify key critical formations that characterise digital change; 2. to reflect on the debates tackling digital change and be able to creatively and independently evaluate and interpret existing scholarship 3. to critically interpret and analyse digital phenomena using advanced conceptual vocabulary 4. to produce independent research that creatively interprets and practically applies some of the concepts offered in the course of study 5. to connect theoretical and conceptual knowledge and the understanding of practice; make productive links between theoretical ideas and practical phenomena 6. to articulate arguments orally and through well-argued essay writing, supported by wide reading and research
Required Materials: Click here for the reading list system
Technical Requirements: The total number of notional learning hours associated with course are 150. These will normally be broken down as follows: 11 hour(s) of Lectures across 11 week(s) 33 hour(s) of Seminars across 11 week(s) 5 hour(s) of Tutorials across 10 week(s) 2 hour(s) of External Visits across 1 week(s) 99 hour(s) of Guided independent Study Formative Assessment: Seminar discussions; students will be asked to take turns in presenting assigned readings with others engaging in a discussion Tutorials; tutorials will be used to discuss preparation for the logs and essays individually and in more detail Summative Assessment: Oral Presentation (10-20 minutes) - 20% Essay (2,500 to 4,000 words) - 80%